Prior to the simultaneous enactment of the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act, (the "Taylor Law") and the NYCCBL in 1967, there existed no comprehensive statutory framework governing the collective bargaining rights of public employees in New York State. However, collective bargaining between the City of New York and the municipal unions developed during the 1950s. Such bargaining was at first authorized and regulated by a series of Interim and Executive Orders issued by Mayor Robert Wagner. Questions of union representation, grievances and disputes over new contracts were handled by the New York City Department of Labor, an arm of the Office of the Mayor. In 1965, in reaction to a strike by welfare department employees, Mayor Wagner asked the Labor Management Institute of the American Arbitration Association to convene a committee consisting of representatives of municipal unions, the City, and impartial members representing the public, to discuss and develop recommendations for improving collective bargaining procedures in New York City. The committee created by the Labor Management Institute in response to this request became known as the Tripartite Committee. The impartial members of the Committee included labor experts Saul Wallen, Vern Countryman, Peter Seitz, and the Rev. Philip A. Carey. The Committee conducted discussions directed by Jesse Simons under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association. In 1966, the Tripartite Committee's mandate was confirmed by the newly-elected Mayor, John V. Lindsay. On March 31, 1966, the Committee members' efforts resulted in a written agreement between the unions and the city to set up an impartial, tripartite agency to serve as the neutral in the City's labor relations. This agreement formed the basis for the City Council's enactment of the NYCCBL in 1967. The City Council enacted Chapter 54 of the City Charter at the same time to create a new, independent and impartial agency, the OCB, to implement and administer the provisions of the NYCCBL.

The City Council's enactment of the NYCCBL was authorized by the "local option" set forth in § 212(2) of the Taylor Law. The Taylor Law, which also created the Public Employment Relations Board ("PERB") , is the state legislation which grants public employees the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their public employers.